Improvement in harvesting-machines



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL N. PAGE,v OF SALONA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN HARVESTING-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 46,929, dated March 21, 1865.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, SAMUEL N. PAGE, of Salona, in the county of Clinton and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Harvesting-lvIachines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full and exact descriptionof the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, (making part of this specificatioln) in which- Figure l is a plan of my improved harvester. Fig. 2is a front elevation thereof'.

Fig. 3 is a view of a portion of the same, lookwhich my invention appertains may be cnabled to fully understand and use the same, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

In the drawings, A represents the main carrying-wheel, from which emanates the motion received by the various operating parts, and which may be provided with pointed proj ections to insure its free rotation upon the axle B, and equalize the draft which might otherwise preponderate on the side at which the cutter-bars are located in consequence of the resistance oered thereto by the standing grain.

The axle B consists of a strong shaft projecting from the frame C. The lower anterior part of the frame C, at the side approximate to the driving-wheel, has formed upon it two upwardly-proj ecting lugs, c c, in which is journaled a shaft, d, carrying` two crank-wheels, D D, one being keyed upon each end of the shaft. On the shaft d, and occupying a position between the lugs c c, is a pinion, d, which meshes with teeth projecting from the inner face of the wheel A, and receives a rotary motion from the latter when the machine is in operation. To the wrist-pins d: d of the crankwheels D D are attached, respectively, the pitmen E E of the cutter-bars-F F, both of which thus have a reciprocating movement imparted to them simultaneously and in opposite directions. This method of operating two reciprocating cutters is at once so obviously cheap and effectual as to render expatiation unnecessary. The position in which the wheel A is represented in the drawings is that which it is caused to assume when the implement is in operation-that is to say, when the cutters are to be reciprocated. To enable the operator to break and form a connection between' thel wheel A and pinion d, said wheel is adapted to be shifted upon its axle B toward and away froin'the piniond. This shifting movement of the. wheel may be effected by means of a lever, II, which is in convenient reach of the driver, who sits upon the seat G, and which is pivoted at its lower end to a bar, H', and carries a semicircular fork, h, which fits within a groove, a, in -the hub of the'wheel A. The bar H is rigidly secured to the outer extremity of the axle B, and upon its upper end is formed or secured a rack,

h', in which the lever II is retained in proper A is a small carrying-wheel employed in addition to the wheel A, and journaled atthe side of the frame C opposite that at which said wheel A is located.

I represents t-he rake, whose arm` I at the y extremity of its loose end is attached by apivot, i, to a post, J, swiveled in the frame C.

In the arm I, and at a point about equidistantA from its juncture with the rake and the end pivoted at i, is a swiveled link, K, to whichis jointed a slotted bar, L, traversed by a wristpin, Z, on the end of an arm, L", thelatterbeing secured to and rotated by a beveled pinion, M, which is journaled'in the frame C. The pinion M rotates vertically and receives its motion from a crown gear-wheel, N, which is also journaled upon the frame (l, and occupies a position at right angles with the pinion M, the arrangement of the two being clearly illustrated in Fig. 2.

Motion is transmitted from the carryingwheel A to the gear-wheel N through the medium of pinions O O', mounted upon the respective ends of a shaft, O2. One end of this shaft is journaled in the same part of the frame G as the gear-wheel N, and its other end in a 'sliding lug, CP, which is'secured on the under side of the frame C, at the rear end thereof, by dovetailing or otherwise. By means of a lever, Q, pivoted upon the frame C, the pinion O may be thrown into or out4 ofv gear witlr the teeth on the inner face of the wheel,

Q, to act upon the'lever, so` as to throw itin the direction of the wheel. A, which movement retracts the pinion lOto a vpointwhere it will be entirely out of contact-with the wheel A, andhence the rotation of the pinion ceases andthe operation of the rakel is suspended.

To throw the pinion in gear with the whe A; the driver pushes the lever away from im, and a reversel movement of the lever serves to disengage the pinion from the wheel. After being thus disengaged, the pinion O, .with the' yshaft O2 and pinion O, isheld against any`ro tation or other movement which might result from the motion of the machine by a catch, o. The. machine ,being put in motion and the pinion O thrown in' gear, the motion is transmitted to the pinion M in the manner described. and the arm L is swung round in a vertical plane, during which the wrist-pin Zacts upon the slotted bar L, and while traversing the slot in said bar the wrist-pin moves ithorizontally and permits it to retain its vertical position. This horizontal movement of the bar. L is communicated to the rake I and causes the l latter to sweep across the-grain-platform Rin a' horizontal plane. As soon as the rake reaches vthe rear end of the platform the wiist-pinl l.will have traversed the slot in the bar L, and on the pinv coming in contact with the top .of said slot the rake is returned to the front of upward withinv said slot as the rake moves over the platform.

The tongue Sis fastened at its rear extremity to one of the side pieces of the frame C, and is supported at a proper height by a rigid vertical arm, T, secured upon` the front portion of the frame C.

U is a horizontal shaft, jonrnaled at its re'- spective ends in the arm T and one side ofthe frame C, and jointed at. u to the pivoted bar F, to which the finger-bar F2 is hinged. The rotation of the shaft -U efe'cts the elevation of the bar Ff'and of the iinger-bar F2, and such rotation` may be accomplished by the turning of a lever; U', which is joined to said shaft U and retained in a depressedand retracted condition by a yspring-catch, U, projecting upward from the frame C.

. The lever U! may be operated by the driver with facility, and by retractingit the fingerbar, withthe dutter-bars, is elevated either permanently for the purpose of adapting them for reaping, or temporarilyto avoid obstacles when the implement is used as a mower, the cuttenbarsbeing adapted for mowing whenl in their lowerposition. It is.- only necessary to push aside the catch iU2 to release the lever U and permit the cutters to fall to their working position in mowing.

The grain-platform R is lattachedlto the nger-bar and to the frame in" suchmannerl that it may readily be detached when the reaper is to be converted in to a mower.

Having thus described my invention, the following` is what I claim as new therein an d desire to secureby Letters Patent:

l. In combination withthe driving-wheel A, adapted for adjustment upon its shaft in the manner explained, the crank-wheels D D', Xed upon one and the same rotating shaft, d, the latter carrying a pinion, d,to receive motion from thedriving-Wheel A, as set forth.

v 2. AIIn combination with the above parts, the lever H and rack H h', constructed, arranged, and employed substantially in the manner and for the purposes herein described and* represented.

SAMUEL N. PAGE.

Witnesses:

G. J. ELDRED, HUGH CONLEY.- 

